80's slang (and other American things)

(some other random slang) B.F.E.: see boondocks, short for Butt F*** Egypt Hella: all-purpose adverb meaning "very" most of the time (e.g. "That was hella cool.") Kick-Ass: good to Kick Someone's Ass: to beat someone up to Open a Can of Whoop-Ass on Someone: to beat someone up (e.g. "I'm gonna open a can of whoop-ass on you if you don't shut-up!") Cookie: small, round, sweet pastry items (referred to as biscuits elsewhere) Biscuit: soft, thick, overly dry and crumbly breakfast rolls that are often served with gravy for no good reason Give a s***: to care (only used in the negative or sarcastic sense. "I don't give a s***." "Do I look like I give a s****?") Eat My Shorts: I don't really care, so you can just go shove it. Sarcasm: (obscure) to say something with the intention of expressing the opposite meaning (this is rarely used here in the U.S., and can cause much confusion amongst Americans)

(some South Park-inspired slang) Sweet: good Weak: bad (as in not good)

Re: 'Do I look like I give a s**t?'

Has anyone got any idea where the word 'DILLIGAF' comes from. It's one I picked up from a colleague, and means 'Do I look like I give a f**k?' I use it because I can say what I feel without offending anyone by using bad language, but I don't know where it originated. It sounds American, but I could be wrong (I'm English, by the way). After all, I've been led to believe that Americans just come out and say what they think, but this is probably an over-generalisation.

Sarcasm

Hey, I'm American, and me and my homies use sarcasm all the time. Although, we love British Humor (Monty Python, Douglas Adams, etc...), and no one besides us seems to understand us. So maybe you're right. Americans are about retarded, anyway. Stupid tits. By the way, I only use "homies" and other G slang to mock them. I'm a bastard.

80's slang (and other American things)

80's slang (and other American things)

'Hella' doesn't seem to exist in Southern California, where I grew up; I had never heard it until I moved to the northern half of the state. What I'd like to know is where it comes from (etymologically, that is, not geographically; while the latter would also be interesting to know, I doubt anyone could pin it down.) I've also been struggling to get a bead on the meaning; in most cases it does seem to mean 'very,' although sometimes it's used more for emphasis than to express an extreme (something like 'frigging')...but just recently I heard someone describe a skiing accident with the words 'and my skis flew hella off,' and once I saw in print (although I'm not certain the source was a native Northern Californian, so he/she might have been using it incorrectly) a phrase like 'Everyone hella does such-and-such.' All this has left me hella confused.

80's slang (and other American things)

"Hella" is most certainly an adverb...that's all that can be said about it. Etymologically speaking, "hella" is a shortening of "hell of a," as in "That's one hell of a bump you got there, Joe." At some point this moved from being an adjective to an adverb, as well as being shortened. Of course, this is mere speculation on my part, but it sounds about right to me.

Since it's an adverb, it can modify adjectives in the same way that "very" does, as in "hella cool," "hella lame," or "hella weird." But it can also modify verbs, yielding strange things like "Everyone hella hates me."

Sarcasm

Hella

I grew up in Colorado and moved to California well before the blight that is South Park fell upon the land, and can happily say that 'hella' did not originate with Eric Cartman.

As far as I have seen hella is a strictly Northern California thing. In fact, use it in San Luis Obispo or points south and be ready for some harassment. Putting 'the' in front of a freeway number as in 'the 405' or 'the 101' is a Southern California thing. Use of this in San Luis Obispo or points north often leads to snickering and pointing. There is a great deal of geographical pride 'round here.

Also, some new ones: don'cha know &#8211; don't you know (Northern US) rubbish &#8211; New English garbage. I take out the trash myself.

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